


sugar me sweet

by littleleotas



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Baking, Birthday, Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 16:03:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14288481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleleotas/pseuds/littleleotas
Summary: Thane and Garrus attempt to bake Shepard a birthday cake.





	sugar me sweet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stitchcasual](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stitchcasual/gifts).



> After triumphantly remembering Shepard's birthday in time to write something for the first time last year, I immediately broke my streak and didn't have anything prepared for today. Luckily stitchcasual came in clutch with the prompt, "Shepard watches Thane and Garrus attempt to bake her a cake." So here is a short little fluffy piece for Shepard's birthday, may she always have happy fluffy domestic time with her boyfriends on her birthday and all days forever and ever amen. And many thanks to stitch for the fantastic prompt! ♥

“It says two eggs,” Thane read off the cookbook page, moving his finger underneath the words.

“Yeah, but what kind of eggs?” Garrus side-stepped to stand halfway behind Thane, peering over his shoulder at the book lying flat on the counter.

“It doesn’t say.” Thane tapped the page thoughtfully. “Surely the ones in the fridge are fine?”

Garrus shrugged. Thane turned around and opened the fridge, taking the carton of eggs out and placing it on the counter. He opened it, took an egg in each hand, and moved over to the mixing bowl. He dropped one egg in the bowl and was about to drop the other, but Garrus’s hand shot over the bowl stopping him.

“You’re supposed to open them.”

“Open them?” Thane looked curiously at the egg still in his hand. “How?”

Garrus fished the other egg out of the bowl. “I watched Vega do it.” He tapped the egg gently against the edge of the bowl, and a small hole appeared in the shell. “Huh.”

“Is something wrong?” Thane asked, looking up at Garrus with mild concern.

“Nah. It’s open. It was just…more open when James did it.” Garrus shook the egg and the white slowly oozed out of the shell.

Thane watched the slow process, a frown slowly growing on his face. “Would it not be easier to make the hole larger?”

Garrus silently continued for a moment before responding. “Maybe.” He tapped the egg against the edge of the bowl again, and the crack extended around most of the egg. He attempted to pull the shell apart, managing only to crush the top of the shell in on itself.

Thane quickly took the disintegrating egg from Garrus’s fingers. “Let me,” he said, allowing his fingers to brush Garrus’s for slightly longer than was necessary and earning himself a smirk in return. He managed to carefully pull the shell apart, letting the egg’s contents drop into the bowl, and repeated the process with the other egg.

Garrus sighed with no small amount of relief. “Right. What’s next?”

Thane dragged a finger down the page, finding the next ingredient. “A cup of…soured milk? That can’t be right.”

“What?” Garrus looked over Thane’s shoulder. “Lemon juice?”

They looked at each other blankly for a moment.

The soft whoosh of the front door sliding open, followed by Shepard’s voice yelling, “Hello?” was an enormous relief to them both.

“Shepard!” Garrus yelled back.

She walked into the kitchen, briefly glancing to smile at them before setting her bags down on the counter. “Hey, how are you?” she asked before looking up. She moved her weight forward as if to take a step, then stopped. She looked from the bowl to the distraught faces on Thane and Garrus, and chuckled. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” said Garrus. “Do you know anything about lemon juice and milk?”

She put a hand over her eyes, laughing. “Guys, you could’ve ordered a cake.”

“No,” Thane said, derisively, but not unkindly. He walked over to her, standing behind her with his hands on her upper arms, and kissed her shoulder. “We wanted to do this for you.”

“Aww,” Shepard hummed, pursing her lips affectionately. “I love you idiots.”

Garrus walked over and kissed her forehead. “We love you, too.”

“We could use your help with this milk problem, though,” Thane mumbled quietly into her shoulder.

She laughed brightly. “Okay, let me see.” She walked over to the cookbook, reading the recipe. “Alright. Measuring cup?”

Thane reached across the counter and picked up the cup, handing it to her. She picked up the tablespoon from the counter next to her hand. “Milk and lemon juice?”

Garrus took them from the fridge and handed them to her. She poured milk into the measuring cup, lemon juice into the spoon, then the lemon juice into the milk. She braced her hands on the counter, staring at it for a moment.

Garrus and Thane looked at each other. “Are you supposed to stir it?” Garrus asked.

She tilted her head thoughtfully, then picked up the cup and shook it gently.

Thane looked at the book again. “Coffee?”

“Oh I’d _love_ some,” said Shepard.

“No, it’s next on the ingredients.”

Shepard turned and opened the cabinet above the coffee machine, taking a filter and the can of coffee down. “Two birds, one stone.”

She set up the coffee machine and hit the start button, then turned back to the counter and poured the milk into the bowl. She turned her back to the counter and leaned back against it, stretching her arms out toward Thane and Garrus. They embraced her and each other, forming a tiny circle, and she sighed and tilted her head onto Thane’s shoulder.

“How was your day?” Thane asked, his voice hushed.

“It was good.” She closed her eyes, not lifting her head. “Just sat in the park. Did a crossword. Oh,” she said, suddenly lifting her head. “There was one I couldn’t get, a turian military thing.”

“Mm,” Garrus hummed. “I’ll take a look at it.”

She smiled up at him. “Thanks, babe.”

The coffee machine beeped, and they broke apart. Shepard poured coffee into the measuring cup, then the rest into a mug. She splashed some of the milk in her mug and grabbed the sugar from across the counter, mixing two spoonfuls in. “Convenient,” she said, grinning. “What’s next?”

Thane consulted the book. “Vegetable oil and vanilla extract.”

She nodded, adding each in turn and whisking the batter smooth. She poured the batter into the pan, slid the pan into the oven, and set a timer.

“So,” she said, swiping her finger through the remnant batter in the mixing bowl and sucking it off. “Any idea what we can do for 35 to 40 minutes?”

“I have an idea,” Garrus purred.

Shepard smiled, reaching out to take both his and Thane’s hands. Thane lifted her hand clasped in his to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. “Happy birthday, Shepard.”

**Author's Note:**

> Honey, your coffee's gonna get cold. :p
> 
> I'm on Tumblr at avelakjar if you'd like to come say hi!
> 
> Also: [cake recipe](https://www.rockrecipes.com/midnight-mint-chocolate-cake/)!


End file.
